Removable circuit modules or cards are increasing in use to provide storage and other electronic functions for devices such as digital cameras, personal computing devices and personal digital assistants (PDAs). New uses for memory cards include multi-media cards and secure digital cards.
Presently, there are a lot of different form factors for circuit modules. Removable circuit modules which are used to provide storage for different electronic devices come in different sizes and shapes. For example, multimedia cards (MMCs) generally weigh less than two grams and come in a standardized size of 24 mm×32 mm×1.4 mm. MMCs are removable solid-state memory solutions for mobile applications, such as MP3 music players, portable video games, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones and digital cameras.
MMCs use ROM technology for read-only applications and Flash technology for read/write applications. MMCs are fast for excellent system performance; energy efficient for prolonged battery life in portable products; and cost-efficient for use in systems sold at consumer price points. MMCs generally have a seven pad (pin) serial interface. This easy-to-install simple serial interface offers easy integration into various devices regardless of the microprocessor used.
A SIMM (single in-line memory module) card is generally smaller and is approximately half the size of a MMC. A SIMM card contains one or more random access memory (RAM) chips on a small circuit board with a plurality of pins that connect to an electronic device like that described above.
Because of the differences in size, SIMM cards cannot not be used in applications which require MMCs. SIMM cards are generally approximately half the size of an MMC, thus, one cannot remove a SIMM card from a device and plug it into another device that uses an MMC. Thus, circuit modules are restricted to certain applications due to sizing differences. Thus, it is desirable to increase the functionality of current circuit modules by providing a means to standardize the size of all current circuit modules.
Removable circuit modules may also be designed to function as modular input/output (I/O) cards. These cards may be used allow different I/O devices to be plugged into and interact with an electronic device like a mobile phone, PDA, digital camera and the like. For example, I/O cards have been designed to allow PDAs to function as a digital camera, an MP3 player, a modem, and the like. However, each I/O card is designed to perform a specific function. Each I/O card requires creating a new card form factor which requires incurring a large capital expense.
The problem with present circuit modules is that there is not a way to add on additional components (functional as well as non functional) to the circuit modules. Thus, it's difficult to expand the flexibility of usage for present circuit modules.
Therefore, a need existed to provide a circuit module and method to overcome the above problems.